Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Moving Into The House Plus a New Block

For the last year and a half, I have engraved out in the studio where I print. Increasingly, I have found it an uninspiring space to sit and engrave, facing the wall. Printing is different - it is well suited to that. At the beginning of the week, I moved my engraving kit indoors and set up on the large desk from which I write:

At first, I struggled to find the right height to engrave. After a day of backache yesterday, I settled on Three books and two sandbags. This raises the block up to chest level so I can keep a straight back while I work:

And what is on the sandbag? A an engraved bookplate which follows in the long tradition of Alpine subjects - in this case the Jungfrau with a range of Alpine flowers in the foreground:

One of my preparatory sketches - My final design had been approved by my client but two elements were reworked - this sheet just shows the reworked elements:

Tonight, I will proof this block and an illustration of a waterfall. Tomorrow I will take the blocks through the various states towards completion, engrave a small illustration and work on final designs for two more bookplates and an image for a wedding illustration - quite a day.